Overview

Last seen: October 17, 2019, at approximately 12:13 p.m.
Location: Homer, Alaska, leaving her supported-living residence near Main Street and Lee Street and walking toward an appointment at SVT Health & Wellness.
Age at disappearance: 38
Case status: Homicide; remains have not been recovered.
Person convicted: Kirby Calderwood
NamUs: MP61059
Homer Police case: 2019-5110

Anesha Katherine Murnane, known to family and friends as “Duffy,” disappeared in the middle of the day while walking to a medical appointment in Homer, Alaska. Search dogs later tracked her scent toward Pioneer Avenue, where investigators believed she may have entered a vehicle. She never arrived at her appointment, and no confirmed sighting of her was reported afterward.

Years of investigation eventually established that Murnane had been murdered. In 2022, investigators arrested former Homer resident Kirby Calderwood. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and in July 2026 he was sentenced to 99 years with 12 years suspended, leaving 87 years to serve, followed by 10 years of probation. Murnane’s remains have never been recovered.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Anesha Katherine “Duffy” Murnane: The 2019 Homer, Alaska Disappearance and Murder Case

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: October 17, 2019, at approximately 12:13 p.m.
Location: Homer, Alaska, leaving her supported-living residence near Main Street and Lee Street and walking toward an appointment at SVT Health & Wellness.
Age at disappearance: 38
Case status: Homicide; remains have not been recovered.
Person convicted: Kirby Calderwood
NamUs: MP61059
Homer Police case: 2019-5110

Anesha Katherine Murnane, known to family and friends as “Duffy,” disappeared in the middle of the day while walking to a medical appointment in Homer, Alaska. Search dogs later tracked her scent toward Pioneer Avenue, where investigators believed she may have entered a vehicle. She never arrived at her appointment, and no confirmed sighting of her was reported afterward.

Years of investigation eventually established that Murnane had been murdered. In 2022, investigators arrested former Homer resident Kirby Calderwood. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and in July 2026 he was sentenced to 99 years with 12 years suspended, leaving 87 years to serve, followed by 10 years of probation. Murnane’s remains have never been recovered.

Anesha Murnane Disappears in Homer

On October 17, 2019, Murnane left the Main Tree Supportive Living facility in Homer at approximately 12:13 p.m. She was expected at a 1 p.m. appointment at SVT Health & Wellness on East End Road, roughly a mile away, but she never arrived.

Murnane did not drive and generally traveled on foot. According to later case summaries, search dogs followed her scent from the downtown area toward Pioneer Avenue near the former Cosmic Kitchen location. The scent trail suggested that she may have entered a vehicle.

Her disappearance was especially concerning because there was little indication she intended to leave Homer voluntarily. She had planned future travel, had submitted job applications, and reportedly did not use her credit card or phone after disappearing. Murnane had bipolar disorder but was reportedly stable on medication at the time.

The Search for Duffy

Murnane was reported missing on October 19, 2019. Homer Police, Alaska State Troopers, firefighters, volunteers and members of the Homer community participated in extensive searches. Investigators reviewed surveillance video, examined Murnane’s phone, banking activity and social-media accounts, conducted ground searches and used aerial resources.

For months, volunteers continued searching neighborhoods, wooded areas, vacant properties and other locations around Homer. Posters bearing Murnane’s photograph became a familiar sight throughout the community.

Despite those efforts, investigators found no trace of her remains.

Murnane Is Legally Declared Dead

By 2021, investigators and Murnane’s family increasingly believed she had been the victim of foul play.

During a presumptive-death hearing on June 17, 2021, a six-person jury concluded that Murnane was deceased and that her death resulted from homicide. Homer Superior Court Judge Bride Seifert subsequently issued a death certificate on June 25.

The ruling did not end the criminal investigation. Homer Police continued working to determine who had killed Murnane and what had happened to her remains.

A Tip Changes the Investigation

A major break eventually came through information implicating Kirby Calderwood, a former Homer resident who had worked at the supported-living facility where Murnane lived.

According to the Alaska Department of Law, a Kenai Peninsula Crime Stoppers tip identified Calderwood as responsible for Murnane’s kidnapping, murder and disposal. Investigators later learned that Calderwood’s wife had told police that he confessed to killing Murnane in the crawlspace of his then-girlfriend’s parents’ home.

Calderwood had moved from Alaska to Utah after Murnane disappeared.

Investigators from Homer Police and the FBI examined the crawlspace. Evidence recovered there contained Murnane’s DNA. Later reporting about the investigation disclosed that forensic analysis supported the conclusion that DNA belonging to both Murnane and Calderwood was present at the crime scene.

Investigators Find Anesha Murnane’s Watch

Another significant discovery occurred when Utah authorities and the FBI searched Calderwood’s residence.

Investigators found Murnane’s watch inside a drawer along with a missing-person poster bearing her information. The Alaska Department of Law later publicly confirmed the recovery of the watch.

The combination of witness information, forensic evidence and physical evidence gave investigators a substantially stronger case than they had during the first years following Murnane’s disappearance.

Kirby Calderwood Is Arrested and Indicted

Calderwood was arrested in Utah in May 2022 in connection with Murnane’s death.

A Kenai grand jury returned a nine-count indictment in September 2022. The charges included first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, two kidnapping counts, first-degree sexual assault, manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence.

The original charging allegations described an exceptionally violent attack. Those allegations included kidnapping, sexual assault and efforts to conceal or dispose of evidence. Because Calderwood ultimately resolved the case through a plea agreement to second-degree murder rather than a trial on all nine counts, allegations connected to the dismissed charges should be distinguished from the murder charge to which he ultimately admitted guilt.

Calderwood was eventually extradited to Alaska, where the criminal case continued through repeated pretrial proceedings.

Calderwood Pleads Guilty to Murder

On February 5, 2026, Calderwood appeared before Kenai Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

He admitted that he murdered Anesha Murnane. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed the remaining charges.

The agreement called for a sentence of 99 years with 12 years suspended, resulting in an active term of 87 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation.

The guilty plea meant the case would not proceed to the long-anticipated murder trial.

Latest Case Developments

Calderwood was sentenced in Homer on July 1, 2026. Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson imposed the agreed sentence of 99 years with 12 years suspended, leaving an active sentence of 87 years. He received credit for time already served and is expected to become eligible to apply for discretionary parole only after serving approximately 58 years. He will also be subject to 10 years of supervised probation if released.

At sentencing, the court emphasized the exceptional violence of the crime and the profound impact Murnane’s disappearance and murder had on her family and the Homer community.

The criminal prosecution has therefore reached a resolution through Calderwood’s guilty plea and sentence. However, one of the most important unanswered questions remains unresolved: Anesha Murnane’s remains have never been found. The Alaska Department of Law continued to describe her remains as unrecovered when announcing the conviction and sentence.

The investigation also produced forensic evidence that was not publicly known during the early years of the case. Investigators recovered Murnane’s DNA from the crawlspace identified as the homicide scene, and later public discussion by investigator Matthew Haney disclosed DNA evidence supporting the presence of both Calderwood and Murnane there. Investigators have publicly stated they found no direct evidence connecting Calderwood to another homicide, although Haney said the broader investigation uncovered evidence concerning other serious assaults.

For Murnane’s family and the Homer community, Calderwood’s conviction answered who killed her. The location of her remains, however, remains unanswered.